Handsome and gifted, Walter Ralegh glittered brightest in a court of brilliant men ruled by one of the greatest monarchs of all time, Elizabeth I. Ralegh held position and power, and was loved by the Queen, but his dream was to conquer new lands for his Queen, to find El Dorado.

          Bess Throckmorton was one of the Queen’s Maids of Honour. Shy and retiring, her dream was to capture the heart of the proud and restless Ralegh, in whose life it seemed she would always come second.

          Set against the dramatic backdrop of their times, theirs was a passionate and enduring love.